Tezzel: The Tilemaker's Tale

The game feels like you’re slowly building a mosaic artwork, and each level is like adding a small piece to a bigger picture. The puzzles are creative, but the game starts off easy and then the difficulty ramps up really quickly, so it gets pretty challenging early on. I actually got stuck in the early levels and was wishing there was a hint button for when you’re not sure what to do next. The idea is really unique, and the visuals are what kept me going, but I think a bit more guidance would make the experience smoother. Overall, it’s still a very pretty and creative puzzle game.

[quote]I wrote this review for the [url=https://thinkygames.com/games/]Thinky Games Database.[/url] Check out the Thinky Games [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44830649-Thinky-Games/]curation group[/url] for more reviews on Steam![/quote] [b][i]Tezzel: The Tilemaker’s Tale[/i][/b] is a grid-based puzzle game about completing a grand tile wall in Barcelona, one puzzle at a time. Each puzzle requires the player to drag several types of blocks to designated end positions. The game has a gentle start, and the solutions always include some amount of freedom, yet piece by piece the conundrums get fairly challenging. Every level takes place on a 9x9 board that represents a tile waiting to be completed. The tile contains a number of controllable blocks and as many designated end positions. Depending on the level, some blocks may be controlled individually, while others may be controlled simultaneously as a group. Players may switch between these given groups of blocks as they move towards a solution. The goal is to eventually have a block onto every end spot at the same time. Most tiles are associated with a particular tool of the tilemaking trade that provides them with specific abilities. For instance, the ruler blocks slide into a direction and only stop when meeting an obstacle. And the compass blocks skip one space every time they move, which can be useful for entering enclosed areas, but also prevents them from stopping at the cells they jump across. The different types of blocks are progressively introduced and tutorialized through the game, along with special markings on the board such as portals and pressure points. Perhaps the most game-defining block ability is the one that leaves a trail of paint over every cell a block has been at. Since blocks can only move over blank cells or cells painted with their own color, setting the cells to a particular color with one block means that blocks of a different color have less and less cells they can move onto. This gives a line-drawing quality to many puzzles: while block movement always comes with some leeway, solving a level often boils down to understanding and circumventing a deliberate topological bottleneck. Once all blocks are correctly positioned, the puzzle is cleared and a new tile is added to the grand wall. Each tile is a meticulous piece of pixel art inspired by the colorful works of Barcelonian tilemakers. The wall also acts as a level select screen. Unlocking new rows does not require solving all previous puzzles; however, the game only ends after all levels are cleared and the wall is complete.

I like the idea! Wouldn't have bought the game because of the Difficult tag, but gladly checked out a review copy. It has some effort put into the presentation and setting, which is always nice. The puzzles seem neat, with mechanics I haven't seen before personally. But that tag is there for a reason... So uh, this game is sort of out of my league. But I still got the impression that it deserves more attention. Bonus points for seeking out a no-genAI capsule artist after having "concerns" about their first one. And for offering a Linux build! [i]More cozy and combat-free recommendations? > [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45583336/]Treefrog wants to chill[/url] < [/i]

🔸 EXPECTATIONS: a tile-based puzzle game. 🔸 REALITY: a varied and well designed puzzle game. 🔷 A game can't get more 'tile-based' than Tezzel: The Tilemaker's Tale (Tezzel) since the player literally controls a tile. It presents 100 levels of increasing difficulty, divided in 10 series of 10 levels, each presenting a new mechanic that is added to the already unlocked. 🔹 The game is inspired by Gaudi's mosaic works. Not only the visuals are a reference to that; the many mechanics also are represented by workshop tools, and it's a joy to discover and experiment with them. 🔹 As mentioned, every series of 10 levels focuses on a new tool/mechanic, but this new way of playing doesn't just take over or change the gameplay completely; the new mechanic is added to the previous ones, creating an evolving and varied experience. 🔹 Part of the fun is unlocking and discovering each tool and what they do, so I won't go into specifics, but you can expect the usual sliding, portals, sokoban and multiagent mechanics, among others. 🔹 Difficulty wise, I only got stuck in 3 out of the 100 levels. To me it felt like medium difficulty, but I consider myself good at multiagent mechanics. I've seen others in the puzzle community saying it's quite hard, so take it as a medium-hard game. 🔹 It can take ~10h to complete, depending of how much time (or how many times!) one gets stuck. Sadly it doesn't have any clues system for those who would like a hint (or straight solution) to keep playing, but not all levels need to be solved to have access to new ones. 💠 Despite having a story that didn't hook me, everything in Tezzel is excellent: level design, art, music, sound effects and difficulty curve. For those after a varied puzzle game, I strongly recommend it. POSITIVES: 🙂+ 😄+ difficulty 😍+ level design NEGATIVES: 🙁- no hints system 😠- 😡- [quote]For more puzzle game reviews, news and everything puzzle-related, follow [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/25928931-Puzzle-Lovers/]Puzzle Lovers[/url] and check out our [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/puzzlelovers]Steam group[/url].[/quote]

A provocative breath of fresh air. Prickly at times, but well worth checking out. A reminder of just how much sokoban is left to discover in this world. My full thoughts: https://thinkygames.com/features/tezzels-hypnotic-tile-grids-offer-up-a-provocative-piece-of-puzzly-outsider-art/

You gotta love puzzles... but you gotta hate them when they juice your brains out! Really enjoyable, cute and satisfying small game. Simple but some levels can hook you for quite some time. one can feel from the little noises and cute pixels the soft and caring vibes involved in this game.

If you love puzzle games, do yourself a favor and pick up this absolute masterclass in tile-based gameplay!! The variety of mechanics is brilliant, constantly introducing new rules and tile interactions that keep the experience fresh. I also loved the clean design with satisfying animations and sound. Don't let the stylish visuals fool you, though; the later levels offer a genuine challenge that will really test your brain. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a gorgeous and deeply rewarding puzzle game!

15:16 Tezzel is super fun. Thought it'd be a chill little tile puzzler but it's got way more bite than I expected. Starts easy, then some of the later tiles really make you sit there and think. That's my favourite part - I like a puzzle game that is a challenge. The whole setup is fun too, you're an old tilemaker in 1910 Barcelona trying to rebuild your rep, and watching the wall fill in tile by tile is oddly satisfying. I've done most of the levels now and still keep coming back. When one puzzle stumps me you can go do another and come back to it later. Super fun overall!!

Although puzzles usually don’t come with a story, this one places you in the shoes of a tile maker whose life takes a disastrous turn. During the grand unveiling of his work in front of a huge audience, someone shatters all of his carefully crafted tiles. The humiliation ruins his reputation, orders stop coming in, and life becomes bleak. Just when everything seems lost, an old friend offers him a second chance. All he has to do is fill a blank wall with new tiles and prove his skill once again. The wall is organized in rows. You begin with the top row, and the row beneath it unlocks once you complete enough puzzles above it. You do not need to solve every puzzle in strict order, except when a new mechanic is being introduced. This means you can choose only the puzzles you need to meet the requirements, or take your time and solve them all. The first few puzzles are there to teach you the basics. Each puzzle takes place on a square grid made up of smaller tiles. Your goal is to move one or more designated tiles to their destination. Movement is simple, using the four directional keys, with each press moving the objective tile by one space. At first this sounds straightforward, but the colors of the tiles quickly become important. Some tiles have different background colors, and the objective tiles can also have colors. When the color of an objective tile matches the background tile, it can pass through it. When the colors do not match, it cannot move through that space. There is also a neutral color that works with any background, giving you a bit more freedom when solving the puzzles. Understanding how to use these colors is the key to solving most challenges. Often you will move tiles several times in a row, experimenting with different paths and variations until everything lines up just right. In some puzzles you will control more than one type of objective tile. You can switch between them whenever you want, but every tile that belongs to the same pattern moves together. The puzzle is completed once all objective tiles reach their matching destinations. New elements appear regularly to keep things interesting. The second row introduces tiles that leave a trail of color behind them as they move. The third row brings in breakable tiles that can be stepped on only a limited number of times. With each new mechanic, the puzzles grow more intricate, gradually turning that once empty wall into a mosaic, but it could go with a lower price since not many will get far.

Super fun, starts out easy but some of the puzzles area real headscratches! Just got through the first few dozen tiles and really enjoying this!